Fire department drawings get go-ahead

MARION -- The Marion City Council on Monday night gave approval to Carbondale-based White and Borgognoni Architects to prepare architectural drawings for an addition to the Marion Fire Station.

Architect Gail White said the cost to the city is $57,260, which includes the drawings and construction-bid preparations, but is not included in the cost of building the addition, which is estimated at $844,000.

Fire Chief Jerry Odum told the council that plans are to remove the old Farm Fresh store next door to the fire station, and add two new drive-through bays.

Commissioner Angelo Hightower asked if the money could be better put toward building a second fire station on the east side of Marion.

Odum said the problem with building a second fire station would be staffing it with firefighters, a minimum of eight, which the city can't afford.

The council, with Hightower, Mayor Anthony Rinella and commissioners Doug Patton, Jim Webb and John Goss, approved the preparation of the drawings in a 5-0 vote.

In other business, the council unanimously approved:

• Hiring Holly Newlin as a part-time dispatcher at $20.66 an hour to replace Nick Bowns who has moved to full-time dispatcher at the Marion Police Department.

• The purchase of up to 700 tons of salt at $59.20 a ton in quantities as needed from Cargill.

• A two-year extension on an agreement with Governmental Consulting Solutions, continuing through November 2020. Rinella said the city's lobbyists in Springfield earned their money this past year, shepherding the return of $1.6 million to the city after the state discontinued the revolving loan program. Those funds were then used on the Halfway Road extension.